Formula 1 teams say the series needs to stop making annual changes to its sprint race rules and consult fans on the future of the divisive format.
The F1 Commission yesterday indicated further changes will be made to the sprint race format next year. It has been altered every year since its introduction in 2021.The original format was used to decide the starting grid for the grand prix. That aspect proved unpopular and was dropped at the end of last year, and sprint races given their own qualifying sessions.
The points awarded for sprint races has also been revised since its introduction. Originally only the top three finishers scored, but that was extended to cover the top eight last year.
However teams remain dissatisfied with various aspects of the format. Its parc ferme rules means they are locked into their set-up after a single hour of practice. The races haven’t produced notably more action than grands prix, and there is concern they can undermine the main event by revealing too much of teams’ performance in advance.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the sport needs to consult the views of fans before deciding what to do with the sprint race format for the 2024 F1 season.
“This is where you’ve got to do the research,” he said. “I think it’s very important that the next step that we make is one that is fixed for a long period of time.
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“This sprint concept is a new concept that’s been introduced. And in some areas it’s very popular and with some traditionalists, it’s very unpopular.”
F1 polled fans on the new format when it was introduced in 2021 and found only a small majority agreed the “introduction of sprint race has improved the show” while other potential changes, such as allowing multiple tyre suppliers, were far more popular. Another survey found more radical alterations to the format, such as introducing reverse grid-races, had very little support.
Horner said F1 needs to decide what to do with sprint races and commit to its next change. “Whatever it evolves to needs to be consistent for a long period of time,” he said.
“The fan feedback is going to play a crucial role in this, in terms of what is it actually that the audience want? Do they actually enjoy the sprint format as it is? Or do they actually want to see a bit more racing if we’re going to do a sprint race?
“If so, if we’re going to do that, then how do we award the points? How do we incentivise drivers and teams? So there are many topics attached to it. But the most important, fundamental thing is, what do the fans want?”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said he “fully agreed” F1 must “not shoot too quickly after a couple of races” to make “small changes or small adjustments, step by step.” He also wants to see a long-term solution.
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“The sequence of sessions is already a change that we have to see how it pans out,” said Krack. “It will have also other consequences or other implications.
“Then the most important, and that is a point that Christian made, which I think is very, very important is what do the fans want? Because we do it for them. This has to be taken carefully into consideration. But also, when doing changes, think about the implications and not trying to fix something again two races later.”
McLaren’s Andrea Stella doesn’t believe drastic change to the format is either needed or desirable. “We need to make sure that we don’t change too often, too rapidly, because then we wouldn’t have this time to adapt, absorb to a certain way in which we intend a Formula 1 race weekend,” he said.
“This is why we think that while improvements have to be made, they should be relatively incremental, have a few more sprint races, and then we can have better data, better information to see in which direction the business of Formula 1 should go.”
“We don’t think that there should be some dramatic changes in the execution of the sprint race,” he added.
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Shimks (@shimks)
25th November 2023, 8:40
Shame it’s a mere 6 sprint races again next year. I love it. I love that I get to watch more racing. I love it that the teams get less practice time. I don’t think Sunday’s races are diluted as a result of the inclusion of Saturday sprint races other than it does feel like a great shame that a championship can be won on a Saturday. I’d like a sprint race on every F1 race weekend. I know I’m in the minority!
S
25th November 2023, 8:52
Likewise – I’d take a sprint at every event.
If I didn’t feel like watching it at any time, I just wouldn’t. Choices.
Olivier
25th November 2023, 9:05
The issue is that the Sprint race gives away too many spoilers for Sunday’s race, which should be the main event of the weekend.
A solution to this, is to make Saturday’s sprint race very different from Sunday’s race, e.g.: A reversed Sunday grid, no DRS, no pitstops, and special sprint race tyres could give Saturday’s sprint race its distinct character.
Alan Dove
25th November 2023, 9:26
Do you want Saturday to have a distinct character? Suddenly you get a scenario where Saturday becomes this chaotic event that garners a ton of headlines. Naturally a few traditional back markers get their moment in the light. Regardless of how this impacts the integrity of FIA World Championship competition, it’ll naturally overshadow the Grand Prix. What happens then is Sunday’s format starts to become a ‘bore’, and then what? Change Sunday format too.
It’s a slippery slope.
Gusm.ai
25th November 2023, 14:21
Special tyres would be an improvement, but I think that the only resource that would make a real difference it would be an individual power unit allocated to sprints.
Teams have no incentive to “waste” PU lifetim, which has to last for almost 6 weekends.
Lets say this means 3000km, so running on “party” mode on the sprint would reduce in almost 10% the full power availabity to more relevant moments in proper (full point-awarding) races.
Leksa (@leksa)
25th November 2023, 10:06
Hi, Domenicali. Nice to see you here.
Sprint races are the worst gimmick since Bernie’s elimination qualifying idea. But at least back then they were honest enough to admit their mistake. I still haven’t heard any remorse from Domenicali. I guess money keeps one’s mouth shut. Because if it wasn’t for money, sprints had been dropped after the first weekend. Just like Abu Dhabi would been dropped from the calendar if it wasn’t for the money it brings.
S
25th November 2023, 10:12
Just like F1 wouldn’t exist (in any recognisable form, at least) if it wasn’t for the disgustingly huge sums of money.
Same goes for every professional ‘sport’ that includes any form of financial economy and commercial/marketing presence.
It’s the money that provides the things you like – of course it will also provide things you don’t like too.
Tristan
25th November 2023, 12:38
Pretending sprint races are anywhere even close to as bad as elimination qualifying is just disingenuous.
PMccarthy_is_a_legend (@pmccarthy_is_a_legend)
25th November 2023, 11:44
@shimks I love the Sprint format too, one tweak I think it would make it even better is removing the Sprint shoot out and simply run the Sprint race on the reverse order of main race qualifying. The weekend could look like P1 and quali on Friday, P2 and Sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday.
S
25th November 2023, 8:50
Then, dear teams, stop opposing what the sprints ultimately need to be to be successful.
F1’s longest serving and most dedicated fans will continue to follow anything that F1 does. That’s what it means to be a fan – acceptance of change and boundless dedication to the series.
After all – they’re still here, complaining just as much as they were 20, 30, 40+ years ago….
lonestar311
28th November 2023, 1:17
S, speak for yourself. I’ve been watching F1 since I first discovered it was on TV and that meant getting up in the wee hours. And while I’ve followed in spite of various changes, the sprint race idea was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I celebrated having all of the free practice sessions and qualifying but I now find myself skipping everything but the actual race on sprint weekends. The sprint race just takes everything and tosses it into the air. I personally vote for elimination.
Alan Dove
25th November 2023, 9:00
You shouldn’t really be asking fans what they want, and if you do you should treat those results very very carefully.
I think surveys are a great way to get into a spiral of novelty and change which fundamentally causes an eventual decline. Scarcity breeds value, but very few people sign up to enforced scarcity. I think of the (yes somewhat debunked) analogy about Coke vs Pepsi. The Pepsi Challenge tells us on a ‘blind test’ that Pepsi wins when it’s one sip. But over time what usually wins out? Coke. It tends to be less sweet and is a more pleasurable drink over the long term. The point I am making is the ‘survey’ awarded to ultra sweet option, but that’s a incorrect conclusion. The poiunt? It’s very difficult to determine long-term viewing habits with these kind of surveys.
From a practical point of view the fact Sprints are still in an ‘experimental’ phase is revealing. I can’t believe an FIA World Championship is experimenting with sporting formats on the fly. It’s very messy and disjointed, and I fear the internal desire is Reverse Grid Sprints and potentially someone separate championship structure.
asz
25th November 2023, 12:57
Another thing is that the less committed someone (as a fan) is to F1, the more open they probably are to experimenting away with the format, the show and the gimmicks (since they are simply looking for another bit of entertainment, but not really having a stake in it, not really caring about its essence). If it provides them with something to fill their time, fine; if it goes down the drain as a result, makes no difference to them.
Tristan
25th November 2023, 10:14
“Do you want to see more racing? YES/NO”
Reverse grids it is! It’s painfully obvious… Personally I don’t see the issue with them trying things, why not, especially in off years like this (and probably next unless someone has a great winter.) That being said, Alan Dove has a great point above, there is probably a better place to do this kind of experimenting than a World Championship series.
S
25th November 2023, 11:17
Where else can they do this experimenting?
Any other time or place (outside of the actual championship) would be completely ineffective.
It is very specific to F1 in its current form.
5
25th November 2023, 10:47
Just make the sprint races rookie based. This solves the issue for young drivers having no experience with current cars (as opposed to 2006 when Hamilton tested whole year before starting race).
Also we get a glimpse of what the current pecking order at track is but not very accurate because of rookies.
This can also solve the issue with current forever drivers as we would have actual comparison with more drivers.
The downside is that most likely the sprint will have only 10 drivers as getting 20 hotheads can be difficult.
Alan Dove
25th November 2023, 10:50
This will never happen. It undermines the integrity of their product to a level not even Liberty will accept.
Tristan
25th November 2023, 11:58
Agreed, plus it’s just dangerous… What could go wrong throwing rookies into a Formula 1 sprint race with a lack of preparation and testing. Even the current drivers complain of a lack of testing, couldn’t imagine a rookie with even less going straight to a race.
kuvemar
25th November 2023, 10:48
Very easy fix. Get rid of qualifying, start sprint races in reverse championship order, sprint result as grid for sunday.
Ludewig
25th November 2023, 11:11
Just like Olivier above I think that they should make the sprint races more distinct. Allow changes to the setups after the sprint, so drivers run different setups during the race. Run with less/no DRS. Allow no tire warmers only during the sprint.
This also has the benefit that they can experiment with things like less DRS and no tire warmers.
lynn-m
25th November 2023, 12:57
just admit that the idea failed & is unpopular among fans and scrap them completely like most people want them to.
Alan Dove
25th November 2023, 14:30
We’re getting Sprints and the lobbying right now is heavy on Reverse Grids in some form or another. That’s my personal red line to which I have to accept F1 is no longer worthy of its FIA World Championship status and crossed the Rubicon. I’ll bail at that point.
We’ve still got the KZ FIA World Championship left as a pinnacle and pure tarmac based race series, which is a mild relief. Shame its a one weekend per year affair.
ZoemDoef
25th November 2023, 17:41
How about lifting a page from MotoGP??
Friday – FP1 & FP2 in their normal slots.
Saturday – FP3 in its normal slot, followed directly by Qualifying – Which sets the grid for the sprint as well as the race. And the sprint a little later…
Sunday – The race in its normal slot.
This format has worked perfectly, weekend after weekend.